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Verdi

There are bad relationships and there are Bad Relationships. The MacBeths of Shakepeare's "Scottish Play" push the boundaries of evil, to say the least. This summer bass-baritone Eric Owens made his debut as the title character of Verdi's Shakespearean opera, with Melody Moore as his scheming wife. During the Glimmerglass Festival, we sat down to talk about twisted love, ambition, treachery, murder, and the House of Cards.

In WXXIâ€™s Sharp Ears series, youâ€™re getting exclusive recommendations from musicians on who is worth your time and attention. In this episode, the guest is Stephen Kennedy, the Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church Rochester, New York. He teaches at the Eastman School of Music and paints large-scale works as well.

A British newspaper is reporting that Chinese authorities are banning or tightening controls on performances of sacred classics such as Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem. Even Carmina Burana has fallen under suspicion. (The Rochester Oratorio Society's repertoire came under Chinese scrutiny over the summer. Only a few weeks before the group's trip to China, conductor Eric Townell got an e-mail saying all of the music had to be vetted. His strategy? He sent translations with the word "Lord" spelled with a small "l" in hopes authorities might miss it.) Read the article here.